would be upon the Koreans and that, as a nation, the Koreans must succeed for the sake of their home country. The Koreans felt much attention would be focused on them to see how well they were operating in conjunction with U.S. forces. If they were working independently, it would show the other countries that not only were the Koreans in a position to act on their own, but they were also freely assisting the United States. The United States could then point out that countries such as Korea, which they had helped for many years, were now operating freely and independently, and not as involuntary props of American policy. Korea's entry into the war in Vietnam showed the world that while Korea was not directly affected by the war it was, nevertheless, willing to go to its neighbor's assistance.
Another reason that the Koreans did not wish to come under de jure U.S. operational control had to do with their national pride. Since Korea had received U.S. assistance for so many years after the Korean War and had followed American tutelage on the organization and leadership of a large armed force, the Vietnam War was an opportunity to show that Koreans could operate on their own without American forces or advisers looking over their shoulders. In effect, the Koreans desired to put into play the military art the United States had taught them.
Initial Developments
Assigned to the Qui Nhon area, the Capital Division initially was given the mission of close-in patrolling and spent its first days in South Vietnam getting accustomed to the surrounding terrain and to the ways of the Vietnamese. Though the Koreans and Vietnamese were both Orientals, their languages were completely foreign to each other. They handled people differently; the Koreans were much more authoritative. General Chae attempted to overcome the differences by working with government representatives to establish methods of bringing the Koreans and the Vietnamese together. For instance, the Korean soldiers attended the local Buddhist churches and also repaired facilities which had neither destroyed by enemy operations or suffered from neglect.
The first major operation in the fall of 1965 involving the Capital Division was an effort to protect Highway 19 up to An Khe from just outside Qui Nhon. The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, then stationed in the area, remained in place for about one month and gradually turned over its area of responsibility to the Korean division. Little by little, the Koreans moved into the river paddy area north of Qui Nhon where they en[gaged]
